Shadow of a Fiend
by Jellic0
Summary: A trickle of light in the darkness of night. Where did it come from? Where will it go? More importantly, how does he know? Dimentio/OC
1. Prologue

Kitang! Kitang! The sound of metal hitting against metal rang through the halls. Small amounts of light drifted in from here and there, casting long shadows. Candles were lit along the edges of the space giving it an ominous feel. At the center, a tall, burly man stood next to a rock podium. Six others stood behind him, garbed in black cloaks. Two armored soldiers entered, dragging a chained woman along with them.

"Nichtaö. Bring her here," the man in the center commanded.

The two men pulled her forward and shoved her down on her knees directly in front of the podium. The man grasped her chin and forced it upward. Her glassy eyes tried hopelessly to focus. He swiftly yanked her hands to him and sliced her thumb open with a knife he pulled out of his belt. He collected the blood on the blade and flicked it onto the ground behind him. The cloaked men moved around the spot into a semicircle. They began chanting, "Wallt. Intchtei. Miaute. Dtol." Her eyes rolled to them. The man grabbed her face and pulled it to his again.

"You do not belong here, litchtla!" He growled at her. "You are a traitor. You are no longer part of the Nlciao!" He threw her down roughly, and turned to watch a void appearing from the drops of blood. The shadowy mass grew quickly. It swirled around itself, creating a pull towards the center. Once it had grown to a size adequate to envelope a person the chanting stopped. The man yanked the girl to her feet and positioned her beside it. "Be gone, demon!" He threw her at the void and she disappeared into it.

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**Hey everyone! Thank you so much for giving my story a chance** :) **It is my first published story, so I really hope you like it, and any feedback will be greatly appreciated :)**

**Here's a translation of the words for you.**

**Nichtaö – Brother**

**Wallt, intchtei, miaute, and dtol are just incantations; they don't have a real meaning.**

**Llitchtla – Swine**

**Nlciao – Family **

**I made up this language as being their native tongue. If it's unliked I won't use it anymore in the story, but I don't really know how to change some of this chapter, so I wouldn't be replacing them. **

**Again thanks so much, and don't worry the rest of the chapters will be much longer :) **

**And if someone could tell me how to put that line in the middle of a break I would love you forever! :)**


	2. Where in the world?

**Firstly, I own nothing but my original character, and her native language. **

**Hey everyone! Thanks for checking out my story **** I know the beginning was short, but it worked for me. Here's a decent sized one for you. **

**Enjoy**

* * *

Shake me down.

Not a lot of people left around.

Who knows now,

Softly laying on the ground.

Not a lot of people left around.

-Shake Me Down: Cage the Elephant

* * *

"Ahhhhhgg..." I moaned from the severe headache wracking my skull. I tried to open my eyes of feel my surroundings, but every miniscule movement I even thought about attempting made my head hurt infinitely more. It would be a while before I could move without my head splitting with pain.

Once the pain subsided to a dull ache I noticed a few things. The air tasted odd. They must've put something in it. I was lying on an unknown substance. There were Hundreds of small objects that seemed to bend underneath me. They felt cool against my skin. It was also warm. Not too hot, not too cold, but comfortable.

There wasn't anything else I could tell from just lying here. I pried my eyes open a sliver, but squeezed them shut immediately. My head felt like it was on fire. '_It won't last forever, just suck it up!' _I told myself. I threw my eyes open and was blinded. A huge bright light in the sky took my vision away. After a long while, shapes appeared and the brightness dwindled. As my eyes continued to adjust I would see more and more of the place I was currently at. Colors of all sorts danced around me. It all looked so unreal to me, like some sort of dream. I turned my head and the objects underneath me tickled my cheek. I looked at the green, oddly shaped things all around me. They were all paper thin, wider at the bottom, and came to a point at the top. There were so many weird things here. I didn't know what to make of it all.

A loud squawk pulled me from my admiring's. I looked upward toward its origin, and saw a small, brown, creature. It was aerodynamically proportioned with a yellow pointed face. It also had sharp talons on its bony, three pronged feet. I was completely mesmerized by this creature. It was so different from anything I'd ever imagined. It suddenly stretched its body out to the sides and flew from where it sat. Flew! How impossible that was, and yet it did it with ease.

I pulled my hands under me, trying my best to ignore the shrieks of protest from my head, and pushed myself to a sitting position. I looked around quickly, trying to get my bearings. It appeared I was in a small clearing in the middle of many tall, green and brown things. There was a path leading down to a blue expanse of liquid. '_That's as good a place as any to start.' _ I thought. I lifted myself onto my feet and stumbled a bit while I got the hang of walking again. I pressed on towards the liquid. It glistened as it rolled around. It was a beautiful sight. A huge mass of sparkles on a blue background, and it reminded me of the night sky.

My attention was quickly drawn to a massive structure across the liquid. It appeared to be some type of domain. '_Who would live in something as large as that? But if someone did they'd at least be able to tell me where I am, so that's where I gotta go!' _I stepped out of the green and put my foot down next to the liquid. I jumped back instantly. '_Did I step in? No. then why is the floor not solid?' _I bent to my knees and brought my face next to the light brown, almost skin colored, floor. It was not liquid, but it wasn't solid when you stepped on it. I felt it with my hand and it sifted around. They were very small solid objects! '_How weird. What is the purpose of this? Maybe the inhabitants of the domain can explain that as well.' _

I once again set my foot on the tiny orbs and they moved around under it. I began walking along it, around the liquid, and towards the large domain.

A long time had passed before I finally drew close. The world had dimmed, and I could see faint glimmers of stars start to appear in the sky. I made my way along a cold grey path to the entrance. Large red plates with images of starts on them blocked the way. They had no way to signal permission, so maybe they just accepted everyone. I tried pushing them, but they didn't budge. I tried pulling them too, but that made no difference. '_Could they have a message system?' _I tapped on the door trying to initiate a conversation. In only a moment the plate slid towards me. I stepped back to avoid getting bumped. In it's place stood another small creature. This one was red and white. It had a round, spotted head, with a face under it. It also wore a small red vest and white pants.

"Hello. Welcome to the Mushroom Kingdom Palace! How may I be of service to you this fine evening?" The creature asked.

Its ability to speak shocked me. '_What was this thing?' _ I stood gaping for a moment before I remembered I needed to answer it. "Is this your domain?" I asked, my voice raspy from not being used for so long.

"No. This castle belongs to Princess Peach! Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom! Please do come in traveler. I'm sure she would love to hear about where you come from. We will prepare a meal for you, and you may rest here as long as you like."

I followed it in and it motioned to a small thigh high square against the wall. I walked over to it and sat down. It was soft and cushiony, a very relaxing combination. I allowed my eyes to shut and rested my head against the wall.

Someone shook my shoulder lightly. I opened my eyes, and saw the little one from before. It smiled up at me. "Please come with me. We have a room for you, so you can get some decent sleep. You seem to be quite exhausted from your journey." It tugged my arm lightly. I stood, and walked with it across the room. It brought me to another plate, smaller than the front ones, and pushed it open. This space was littler. It contained a few small squares, and a large darkmat in the center.

"Please make yourself at home. When you wake we will have a meal ready for you," he said stepping out of the space.

"I am glad for you," I said, facing him and bowing slightly.

"You're welcome," it smiled and sealed the plate.

I stepped over to the darkmat and collapsed onto it. I fell asleep almost instantly.


	3. A Place Worth Going

A brand new life is calling...

It's so much brighter living in your world.

Savior, what you did for me

You gave me something I want everyone to see.

-Learning to be the Light: NewWorldSon

* * *

I awoke peacefully. I didn't remember any of my dreams of that night, but that just made it all the more relaxing. No turmoil within my head while I was unconscious. Unfortunately when I opened my eyes I was still in the space the small one had brought me to. I was almost hoping that had all been a dream and I'd be back in my darkmat in my own space.

I threw my feet to the ground and picked myself up. I made my way over to the plate and pulled it open. I walked out into the main room and saw many of the little one hustling about. 'How did it multiply so quickly? And they all look identical.' One of them approached me. "Ma'am, the dining room is this way," he said, gesturing for me to follow him. I strode after him leisurely; looking at all the features of the space I was too tired to last night. There were two large staircases on either side of the room leading up to a large plate at the top. Directly underneath that there was a smaller plate, level with the floor I was standing on. Two other plates sat on either side of the space probably leading to a couple of hallways.

We stepped through the door under the staircase. This space was large, and had an elongated table in the center of it. There was a plethora of food items sitting atop it. A few of the little ones were already seated and eating. The one I was following turned back towards me. "Please help yourself, ma'am," he said motioning towards the table. I walked over to the end and gazed along it. The smells floating into my nostrils made my mouth water. My stomach growled telling me how hungry I was. I sat and scooped some food onto a dish for myself. I scarfed down the delicious cuisine quite unceremoniously, and piled more in the dish. I finished another dish after that one before I lounged back, thoroughly stuffed.

Now that I had some sustenance in me, I needed to talk to this Princess Peach. I rose from the table and returned to the other space. All of the little ones seemed to have gone on their way, but it wasn't empty. There was a man standing alone a ways away, twiddling his thumbs. He wore a green hat, which had a white L on the front of it, and shirt. His pants were blue and had straps going over his shoulders. He also had a slew of hair on his upper lip. I stood a few steps closer before he noticed me. He waved his hand enthusiastically, and walked over to me.

"Hey there! Haven't seen you around before. What brings you to the castle?" He asked.

"I was traveling and stopped to rest. Your Princess was kind enough to let me stay," I replied.

"Yeah, she's a really nice lady. No matter who you are she's always gonna have something sweet to say to you."

"Do you know where I can find her?"

"My bro just went to get her. They should be down any second." As if that was a signal the plates at the top of the stairs opened. Through them came a pudgy man, wearing the same attire as the gentleman next to me, except it was red and had an M on the hat instead. They even had the same hair on their upper lip. If I had to guess, I'd say they were related. Also, a young, pretty woman walked beside him. She had blonde hair, with a crown atop her head. She wore a beautiful, flowing, pink dress.

They made their way down the stairs and stopped in front of us. The woman quickly curtsied before speaking. "Hello, Luigi. How are you this fine day?"

"I'm fine, Princess. And how are you?"

"I am wonderful, thank you." She turned towards me and smiled. "You must be our guest. I am Princess Peach. I'm sorry for not introducing myself to you yesterday, but I thought you'd like to get some sleep first."

"I'm glad for you hospitality, your highness. My name is Ruia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ruia," Peach said cheerfully.

"I'm Mario," the one wearing red stated.

"And I'm Luigi," the one in green chimed in.

"It's good to know you," I smiled at them.

"Why don't we all go out and we can show you around. We'd love to hear about where you come from, Ruia," Peach suggested.

"That sounds wondrous, your highness," I answered and followed them out the door.

* * *

Mushroom kingdom was an amazing place. There were so many vibrant colors everywhere, and the citizens were all so kind. Every way you turned there was simply something bright to keep the mood cheerful. We made our way to a small café for lunch after a while. We sat in a corner that would allow us some privacy. A waitress came and took our orders quickly and left us to our conversations.

"So, where do you come from, Ruia?" Princess Peach asked.

"I hail from a place called Tanjo n'ok."

"I've never heard of that. Where is it? What is it like?" Luigi questioned.

"Relative to here, I'm honestly not sure where it is. I do know it is a very long journey, and not one worth making for what you'd see there. I have no idea what our lands look like. You see, we live encased in metal, and aren't ever allowed to leave. I've never seen such things as the sun, or plants." I paused for a moment and looked at their awed faces. They'd obviously never heard of it, so they wouldn't know how to get back. Before I got caught up in thoughts I continued. "It is always dark and dreary. We have artificial lights, but they don't help much. Now that I've seen your lands I realize it's quite depressing."

They took a moment to process everything I'd told them. "That does sound sad, but it's your home. How will you get back if you don't know where it is?" Peach asked, genuinely concerned.

I cast my eyes down, embarrassed by the truth of the statement. After a moment I realized something painful. "The Nlciao, my family, or former family I should say, made it that way."

"What do you mean?" Mario asked.

I paused, thinking back to them, but stopped myself before I got emotional. "I was banished," I answered in a whisper, "I am never allowed to return."

"Oh, my poor dear," Peach cooed, "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for Princess, so please do not." I smiled up at her reassuringly. "You have already been kinder to me than my family ever was." They all gave me the same pitying look that made me sick. I didn't deserve pity. I was a monster. I didn't belong in their presence, but they didn't care. They were so kind to me it warmed my heart. In that moment I swore I would never again use my powers, so as not to hurt these people.

The waiter brought our food and we ate mainly in silence. Once we'd finished we made our way out of the restaurant and started back to the castle. We came upon a small hill and I could see much of the lands from the top. I looked out to a peculiar dark area amongst all the bright of Mushroom Kingdom. There seemed to be some sort of castle in the midst of it. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to it.

They all looked towards it and frowned. I quickly regretted saying it since it upset them so, but they answered me shortly. "That's Bowser's castle."


End file.
